Golen Gol Hydropower Project’s 1st Unit to be commissioned in October 2017

Lahore, May 30, 2016 (PPI-OT):Construction work on the 108 MW-Golen Gol Hydropower Project has been expedited, while reliability of test run for Unit No. 1 of the project dedicated for District Chitral is expected to be commissioned in October 2017. Although, efforts are being made to complete the Unit No. 1 in June 2017.

This was briefed to the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Zafar Mahmood during his visit to the project being constructed in District Chitral of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. WAPDA General Manager (Projects) North, Project Director and representatives of the project consultants and contractors were also present on the occasion.

During his visit, the Chairman had a detailed round of the various sites of the project including weir (dam), diversion tunnel, power house, switch yard and transmission line to review construction work on these sites. Speaking on the occasion, WAPDA Chairman said that speedy completion of hydropower projects including Golen Gol is a must to get rid of power shortages in the country besides lowering the tariff for electricity consumers.

He also mentioned that Prime Minister of Pakistan has already instructed WAPDA to provide 30 MW of electric power to District Chitral, as according to the Prime Minister that is the first priority because Chitral needs electricity urgently after damage to the hydel facility in 2015 floods. Expressing satisfaction over civil works of Golen Gol Hydropower Project, he directed the project authorities to expedite their efforts on electro-mechanical works of the project.

Similar to civil and electro-mechanical works, timely completion of the transmission line is also of equal importance, so that electricity, generated by the project after its completion, could be evacuated and added to the National Grid, he further said. The Chairman expressed the hope that Golen Gol Hydropower Project will not only help bridging the gap between electricity demand and supply but also play an important role for economic and social uplift of the remote areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa like Chitral.

Earlier, General Manager (Projects) North briefed the Chairman about progress on the project. He also apprised him of the issues being faced by the project, the financial problems in particular. It is pertinent to mention that Golen Gol Hydropower Project is being constructed on River Golen Gol, a tributary of River Mastuj. On completion, the project will contribute 442 million units of low-cost hydel electricity to the National Grid per annum.